Those That Remain
by Keitarotard
Summary: This is the story of how the rest of the family of friends moves on after Angel's death. PostRent... takes place immediately after movieplay ends when Mimi wakes up. Rated T for Language.
1. PreChristmas Party

This is set immediately after the movie ends when Mark finishes showing off his film for the family.

Mimi seemed to be acting completely healthy again, which was impressive for someone who had stopped breathing only minutes before. Roger was still worried sick nonetheless.

"Mimi, are you sure you're going to be ok?"

"Roger, please. I'm fine ok! Can we just celebrate Christmas and get on with out lives?"

"It's just… I've lost you twice already, I'm not willing to do it again. I just want to make sure your going to"

Mimi cut him off immediately with a passionate kiss, one the two had not shared since New Year's day 1989 before Roger found out about her seeing Benny.

"be… ok." The last words almost didn't find their way out of Rogers mouth. He was a little stunned and shocked at how suddenly the bond between him and Mimi re-established itself. Although he came back to New York for her, Roger assumed that it would take weeks, maybe even months to get Mimi to forgive him for everything he had done. A smile crept onto his face, and he returned the favor.

"Awww… now ain't that cute!" Collins sobbed. Mimi's life probably meant almost as much to Collins as it did for Roger. Collins had already lost Angel, and losing another member of the family may have been too much for him to bear. It was obvious to all the others in the room that Collins was still thinking about what Mimi said. He knew Mimi had seen his lover; the speech was so Angel-esque Mimi may just as well have plucked Angel from heaven to be with them for a few more seconds. Collins snickered to himself at this thought. Nothing would ever be the same without her. Nothing at all.

Maureen, being her usual high-energy self, despite all the events that just happened, broke the peaceful silence.

"Hey! The lady said we should celebrate. Party Time!"

"Maureen, No. Mimi has been through way too much. She really needs to take it easy for awhile. Can't we all just go home and celebrate Christmas with a nice group brunch at the Life Café in the morning?"

"Joann, do you always have to be such a spoil-sport?" Maureen countered. She was exceptionally good at getting her way in the end and she knew it. That party was going to be held that night, and Maureen was going to use every ounce of her power to make it so. Joann could easily see where this conversation was going to end up and therefore gave up on the entire matter. She rolled her eyes back into her head and slouched back onto the countertop.

"Mimi, you do want to have a party right?"

"Of course Maureen. I wouldn't have it any other way"

"Ya see baby. All you have to do is ask the girl and she'll tell you what she wants. Brunch at the Life Café. HA!" Maureen's playful side came out. Joann had been with her long enough to know that she was joking… maybe… hopfully.

"Comon guys, I know you have alcohol around here somewhere, just bust it out and let the good times roll!"

"Who said we were going to have the party here?" Mark shot. The last thing he needed right now was a drunk drama queen, a lawyer, a slightly depressed gay ex-roommate, and two lovers reunited for the first time in months, parading around in his house like there was no tomorrow. There was, in fact, a tomorrow, and Mark wanted to be able to enjoy his Christmas instead of having to fight a massive headache for half the day.

"Oh, Pookie please? There isn't anywhere else to go this late in the evening, and the daylight is going to be here before you know it." Maureen knew Marks reasoning. She dated him for long enough to know him inside and out. But then again, he must know her inside and out. This was going to be a close battle, but she wasn't going to give up yet.

That word again… "pookie". It burned Mark up inside every time he heard her say it. He knew right then and there that the point of fighting the case and long been gone, she was going to get her way eventually.

"Fine then, but you owe me big for this. Add this to the Mark-has-gone-way-out-of-his-way-to-do-things-for-you-list. Right under 'Fixing Equipment for Protest' and 'Getting Protest Broadcast on the News' would be a good place for it." That little twinge of sarcasm would really set Maureen off. She won the bigger battle and got what she wanted, but the smaller internal victories far outclassed the big victories for Mark.

"Just promise me you won't have anything to drink."

"Roger, I'm not being stupid. I know my limits."

"Heh… sometimes I wonder" Roger muttered under his breath.

"Wha'd you say?"

Roger and Mimi engaged in a comical argument for about 5 minutes before another passionate kiss from Mimi interrupted it. She had missed Roger so much during his absence, and wanted to make up for as much time as she could right here, right now, on Christmas Eve.

Maureen immediately found the load of stuff Collins brought and dug everything out with surprising speed. Joann rolled her eyes again and walked over to get a drink. Roger and Mimi continued making out on the countertop as if they were the only two people in the entire world. Over in the corner Collins was laughing so hard it was a wonder he could still breath. Mark tried for awhile to enjoy the festivities with his friends, but found it a little too difficult to do so without drinking a lot. Drinking games seemed to be one of Maureen's specialties, she concocted a new one out of thin air about every 5 seconds. Mark finished what was left in his cup and went to sleep on the couch while it was still vacant. He could still hear the ruckus in the background, but his day had been long and tiring searching for Mimi all day. He was glad she was home, and couldn't wait for Christmas day to come by. It was almost like a new year already.


	2. Christmas Day

December 25, 10AM, Eastern Standard Time. Mark was right; he did have a headache in the morning. Considering the situation last night Mark thought he contained himself quite well, but he had a headache anyhow. Maureen and Joanne weren't anywhere to be seen, but Roger and Mimi were apparently sober enough after the party to find their way into the only other comfortable spot in the besides the couch Mark had slept on. Both of them lay in the same chair, Mimi somewhat on top of roger. Their fingers were entangled, and it looked like, from where Mark was sitting at least, Roger was perpetually kissing his lovers forehead. In the middle of the room lie Collins, with the rest of the bottle in his hands. It had been drained completely. He was going to be in pretty bad shape when he woke up which, Mark imagined by the look of sheer bliss on his face, would be a couple more hours at the least.

Mark struggled a little getting on his feet. A wave of dizziness swooped over him so quickly he lost his balance and fell back onto the couch. For a moment he thought of not getting up. Maybe he would just stay there and have a day of complete rest. Sleeping all day might not be such a bad thing. He'd certainly have all the energy in the world for his meeting with the Buzzline Execs introducing his documentary.

"Shit." Mark whispered. He just remembered the meeting at Buzzline. Giving them the right to his documentary just didn't feel right anymore. He had poured every ounce of his being into making this film. As if he didn't already sell his soul to them, now he was about to give them his life's work. Now he was about to give them his hopes, his dreams, and his future. It all just felt wrong. There had to be another way. "It's our only way of paying Benny." he muttered. Great. Now he was talking to himself. Mark mocked himself for awhile, and toyed with the idea of telling the Execs to shove it tomorrow in the middle of the meeting. He'd consult with Roger and Collins beforehand though. Their input had never hurt in the past, what harm could it do now?

Mark tried standing up again and managed to stay upright until he got to the coffee pot, where he had to latch onto a dining chair to keep from falling. He poured himself a generous portion of the hot black liquid and sipped at the cup. Where would their money come from if not from Buzzline? They had already told Benny that they didn't need his generosity or his charity. It would be not only shameful but embarrassing as well to go back to him and beg for more free rent. Wait... didn't Collins get money from somewhere. He told them last night that he didn't have his job anymore. Mark's head was still a little hazy, but he was working as hard as he could to remember where Collins acquired all of his riches to splurge on party supplies the previous night.

Of course! The ATM at the food emporium! With that as a cash supply they could do whatever they needed without having to worry about working! And the password? He didn't have to try too hard to remember that one. A-N-G-E-L. What else would Collins make the password? Mark suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. There was no reason he should feel guilty because he knew they all did what they could for him in his final hours, but nevertheless: guilt. The guilt was most likely a result of his old insecurities with himself. They had been there ever since Maureen broke up with him and got a **_girl_**friend. They were feelings that he just wasn't good enough at anything besides his filming. Maybe Roger had been right that night when he left for Santa Fe.

"_Mark has got his work. They say Mark lives for his work and Mark's in love with his work. Mark HIDES in his work."_

"_From what?"_

"_From facing your failure, facing your loneliness, facing the fact you live a lie. Yes you live a lie! Tell you why. You're always preaching not to be numb, when that's how you strive. You pretend to create and observe when you really detach from feeling alive!"_

"_Perhaps it's because I'm the one of us to survive!"_

Mark deserved this wave of guilt that now rushed over his mind. He had been really harsh on Roger that night. True, they had all suffered a great loss, and no one had meant it to get out of hand. But Roger was harsh too. Roger really didn't have to go so far as to crush what he had been doing his whole life. Then again, Mark himself didn't have to be so harsh on him either about his AIDS. Mark would have to make it up to him sometime if he ever was going to put his life together and fulfill his dream. But how do you make up mocking your best friend and roommate for having an incurable deadly virus? It was going to take a miracle that was for sure.

Mark strolled over to the windows, which were still quite frosted over. He tucked his hand into his shirt sleeve and rubbed on the glass until the frost disappeared. He was regaining his strength back finally. He glanced at the clock, or at least where the clock should've been. He found it lying on the ground right beneath where it hung on the wall only hours ago. It must've been Collins. Ever since Angel's death, he has never looked at a clock. He claimed the reason to be that he feels like he's counting down the seconds of his own life every time he stares at the clock. Paranoia probably, but no one would say anything. To all of them Collins seemed in perpetual mourning. He would never cease loving Angel even beyond his death.

He looked around the room for the digital clock that lay next to the comfy chair. It appeared as though Collins did not see that clock for it was in the same space he left it. The bright red glowing numbers told him it was 10:59. Mark, completely forgetting he set the Alarm on the clock to wake him up this morning, let it go off right next to where Roger and Mimi were sleeping peacefully. 11:00 hit just seconds later.

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!**_

Mark had probably never seen a more spectacular display in his life. Roger was the first to wake. Almost immediately he was sitting straight up in his chair, flinging Mimi to the ground. She must have awakened sometime when she was heading to the floor, because she tightened her grip on Rogers' fingers and pulled hard on them out of fear. This brought Roger down to the floor where his body flew beside Mimi's. There was a dull thud of his forehead hitting the cold hard floor. Mark cringed slightly. As if his headache wasn't going to be bad enough already. Oh well… it was his own fault after all.

"What the hell was that!"

"Maybe you should've checked the alarm before you dozed off Mimi."

"Oh shut up Mark!" she teased as she grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at him.

"I'd be more worried about how he's doing than about what I'm saying." As much as he tried to hold himself back Mark burst out laughing. Roger was groaning on the floor, still probably not completely aware of what had just happened. He was going to be even harder to get along with then usual today.

Mimi stood up and ran to the refrigerator to get ice. She didn't stumble or fall or anything of the sort. Mark was impressed. Mimi managed to go through the whole evening without drinking a thing, just like she promised. She came back a few moments later with a handful of ice and asked if there was anything she could put it in. After a few moments of silence she gave up and ripped part of her shirt off and put the ice in it.

"Roger? Can you hear me Roger?" Mimi was very concerned. She realized just then that she was talking to him as though he was knocked out, but what if he was?

"Mimi? Is that you?"

"Oh god Roger your such a pansy. It was only an alarm clock and you practically throw me to the floor!"

Roger knew it was Mimi's voice, but he didn't know much else. Head? What the hell was a head? Whatever it was Roger certainly didn't feel like he had one at the moment. He lay there for a little bit trying to make out some words she was saying, trying to remember what happened last night, and trying to remember where the hell he was even. A party. Yes there was a party last night at the flat. And now he was lying on the floor. That could only mean one thing, and it wasn't good.

"Roger! Are you even listening to me!" Mimi screamed in a very irritated tone.

"I had way too much to drink didn't I?"

"Wouldn't surprise me at all. Comon… sit up now." Mimi finally peeled Roger off the floor and into the chair again.

"I'll get him some warm coffee." Mark offered.

"That'd be great. Thanks Mark."

Mark walked once again over to the coffee pot only to nearly trip over Collins' body. He was still asleep? After all that? Oh well, guess he could just sleep there if that's what he really wanted. He returned with a cup of coffee each for Roger and Mimi.

Click "SPEEEEEAK!" Click

"**Merry Christmas to All! It's me Joanne. Listen, Maureen and I were wondering if you'd still be open to the idea of Brunch at the Life Café today. It has got to be about the only place that's open today, so if you want to go just give us a call back whenever you get the chance! Hope your headaches aren't as bad as ours!"**

Click

"Well? What do you think guys?"

"Sure" Mimi and Roger spoke in unison.

"Well what are we going to do about HIM then? We can't just leave a drunken gay man in the middle of the room." Mark said in the most joking way possible.

"Well then go wake him up!" Mark was right; Roger was in quite a pissy mood. He held his tongue the best he could and trudged over to where Collins was still laying down. A couple moments passed as mark was kneeling beside him. Something didn't seem quite right. Mark looked at his friend in search of what it was that was wrong. No… no it couldn't be. He watched Collins for a few more seconds before it hit him like a freight train.

"Is he up yet Mark?" Mimi asked.

"No… as a matter of fact he's not even breathing. Roger, call an Ambulance right now! Mimi, come over here and help get him on the table. We need to try some CPR!" How long had he been like this? Mark had no idea, but he was NOT going to let another friend die on his watch. He ripped open Collin's shirt and began shoving furiously on his chest. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Mark attempted some mouth to mouth, but to no avail. He continued shoving on Collins's chest for another 2 min. Giving up was not an option for today. He shoved down on his chest with all of his might, and it worked! A wave of vomit rushed out of Collin's mouth, and Mark had to turn him over quickly so he wouldn't choke on his own spillings. It was going to be quite a mess to clean up later, but he was still alive.

Collins gasped for as much breath as he could, but it wasn't much. Something was restricting him from breathing still. He let out another wave and he felt better. The words "holy shit" was all that Collins managed to get out of his mouth before passing out again.

"Roger! Is the ambulance here yet?"

"Yes, they just pulled up, and they're coming up with a stretcher."

"Oh thank God." Mimi was crying fiercely. She latched on to Roger and cried on his shoulder while the Paramedics loaded him up on a stretcher, stuck an IV in him, and began the trek down the stairs. Roger comforted her the best he could on the way up to the hospital, but he also had himself to comfort at the same time. Would Collins make it, or would he be going to the divine beyond to be with Angel for the rest of Eternity? He didn't know, but he was going to do everything in his power to keep death from happening. He muttered a silent prayer to Angel.

"I'm sorry Angel. Your death isn't in vain, and I know that now. I've got all I need to finish out my life. My song, my love, and my life have all come into perspective for me. Thank you Angel. Your death is not in vain. Your death is not in vain."

He was almost apologizing to Angel for what he said way back. He needed to in order to cleanse himself of the guilt he felt toward that day. He also needed to cleanse himself of his hate toward Mark on that day. He was sure it had a lasting impact on his friend, and he was tired of hurting people. Now Roger just wanted things to be better. He let his tears flow along with Mimi and Mark in the Ambulance as they sped off toward the hospital. This wouldn't be the end of Collins. This couldn't be the end of Collins. They just wouldn't let that happen. Not here, not now. Roger gripped his guitar and began playing a sweet lullaby for his two companions. Mimi fell asleep again on his lap, but Mark was busy filming the whole scene.

"Doing another Documentary already?"

Mark didn't answer. Roger realized he shouldn't have said anything. This just made Mark, Mark. Right now he knew Mark was still deeply worried about Collins. Instead of talking, Roger thought he should do what only he could do. He stopped his lullaby, and began to play his song, "Your Eyes" for Collins. Mark suddenly burst into tears and turned to Roger, half laughing half crying.

"You seem to have this thing for picking the best song for the occasion."

"I try."

The two friends shared a look, and then began sobbing together. In this act they had forgiven each other for all wrongs done to the other one. They came to a deeper understanding of their friendship as they sat in that ambulance. Their bond could only strengthen from this point on. When they arrived at the Hospital, paramedics wheeled Collins into the ER and the 3 friends sat in the waiting room, waiting for the final verdict on their friend's life.

Roger took a great big and exhausted sigh. "This is one hell of a Christmas present."


	3. Think of Others

I hope I'm not spitting these out too quickly for you. Please tell me if you think I should slow down a bit. I'm just really really obsessed with Rent right now and I can't stop writing… the ideas never stop pouring out of my brain. Please review if you get the chance.

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The clock had just struck the last tone of one at the Life Café. Maureen and Joanne were beginning to wonder what the heck was up. No one bothered to call, no one bothered to write, no one bothered to leave a message or even send someone down to tell them what was up! It wasn't like those four just to leave friends hanging high and dry. Especially Mark! Of all people Mark would've been the one to say "Hey guys let's give em a call back and tell them we can't go." What was going on?

Joanne could tell something was up, and she thought Maureen could to. She was more slouched over then normal, just stirring her hot tea over and over and over again. Maureen wasn't even talking very much. Although Joanne should've been treasuring this moment of peace and quiet, when Maureen wasn't speaking to anyone you knew something pretty damn bad had to have gone wrong somewhere in the world.

"Maureen? Are you ok? You've been stirring that tea for the past 5 minutes."

"Oh I don't know. I think it's just one of those days… or maybe it's the headache and the hangover. Yea…That's probably it."

"Are you sure? You look like something's bothering you. Want to talk about it?"

"No no, it's nothing like that." Maureen tried to keep the aggravation out of her voice, but it was so damn hard with such a bad hangover! There really wasn't anything bothering her right now at all. She was at least telling the truth. The situation was beginning to get a little uncomfortable, for she too was wondering why no one had called them. The two of them had been sitting with their drinks for more than a half an hour. Their friends should've had plenty of time between eleven and one to make up their damn minds. Maureen just had this weird feeling something was wrong. She finally took a sip of her tea. Bleah. Not enough sugar. She was busy pouring more in when Joanne's Cell phone rang.

"Hello. Well bout damn time you… Oh. WHAT? Is he going to be Ok?"

"What's going on Joanne?" Joanne held up a finger to silence her without even looking at her. She was very intent on listening to whatever it was that whoever it was had to say. Maureen hated being left in the dark.

"We'll be right there."

"You going to tell me what all THAT was about yet?" Maureen spat.

"Grow up Maureen! It was Mark, he said that they couldn't come today because…"

"Well he'd better have a good reason." Maureen cut Joanne off. That did it. Joanne was going to try to lay it on Maureen easily. After all, she had known Collins for a much longer time period, but that threw her over the edge.

"Maureen Roger, Mimi and Mark are at the hospital right now praying for Collins' life. They still have no idea what happened, they just found him this morning not breathing. The doctors won't tell them anything yet but it doesn't look good. If you could shut your mouth for one SECOND maybe I could speak and tell you what's wrong. You're always so worried about yourself and not others. It almost didn't even matter why they weren't here did it? If it were even a really good reason you would still hold a grudge against them for making **_you_** wait here until they called. Get over yourself Maureen!. Other people in this world exist believe it or not!" Those words stung Maureen to the core. She knew every single one of those statements was correct.. At first she thought maybe her friends were just teasing her, but how she just reacted made her realize that side of her actually existed.. She **_was_** being selfish. It became a completely new revelation for her. Collins? Dieing? No… it couldn't be happening, he would make it through, he had to!

Maureen didn't even argue with Joanne as they sped off toward the hospital. She simply continued to gaze blankly out the window. She felt extremely ashamed of the way she had just acted. Almost like a child. Maureen grew angrier and angrier with herself every passing moment. She had acted like a two-year-old back in that Café! That wasn't like her! Or was it? Her friends always had called her a drama queen. Could it be because of how she presented herself? Sadness and self pity flew over her like a hurricane, and she began to sob quietly into the seatbelt.

Joanne drove faster and faster and faster. The anger had been building up for so long, but she still didn't mean for it to come out like that. She hated having to convince herself almost every day that she was dating an adult and not a child. But maybe it was just Maureen being herself. If that was the case, then what was screaming at her in public going to do for her? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even so, there were still going to have to be some major changes in their relationship if they ever hoped to be together. She opened her mouth once, then twice to apologize, but nothing came out so she eventually just gave up.

The two reached the Hospital about 10 minutes later to discover Mark and Roger talking to one of the Doctors. They rushed forward and joined the discussion. It appeared that Collins had contracted alcohol poisoning from his over the top festivities. His condition had stabilized through much vomiting and such. They were busy pumping fluids back into him and they mentioned he'd have to spend the night, but other than that, he was going to be OK. They all ran back over to tell Mimi the good news and ended up saying it all at once with a jumbled slur. Mimi still got the general idea, and the 5 friends embraced in the hallway as if no one else in the world would ever be able to stop them. It was a very close call, but Collins was still alive, and that was all that mattered to any of them at this moment.


	4. A New Beginning

"Love Heals when the pain's too much to bear. When you reach out your hand and only the wind is there. When life's unfair, Love Heals"

* * *

It was some hours after news came of Collins stabilization. They had stayed and talked for a good long while until a nurse came and kicked them out. "Visiting hours my ass!" Maureen had complained. There was no need to fight a losing battle, so the other four pulled her away from the conflict, into a car, and drove off to the Life Café. They were going to have that brunch, well, dinner by this point, after all. Collins told them not to let their lives revolve around the life of an already dying man, because it would only end badly.

The five friends had an unusually quite meal together. Not saying that nothing was said, just that there were no tables being jumped on or excessive drinking. They talked about New Year's Day and tried to convince each other to share their resolutions before it was time. They conversed about Angel, and how much they still missed him after these many months. Then they talked about where they were headed next. Careers, life, and so on. Mark claimed he was going to quit his job at Buzzline because it didn't feel right. Roger was going to try to go back to performing after all of these years. Joanne was going to stick with her lawyer job. When Maureen was asked, she couldn't really think of anything. She was so unpredictable that none of them pursued it any further. They all knew she would find SOMETHING to stick her nose into by the time the year ended. Mimi didn't say much either. She was considering quitting her job as a dancer at the Cat Scratch. The job was exceptionally easy for her, but it got old after awhile. An idea would come to her eventually.

Maureen and Joanne were the first to leave, followed closely by Roger and Mimi. Mark said he was going to stick around and finish his coffee, and pay this time. The owner would probably shit a brick when Mark showed him he had money this time. They said their goodbyes and left.

"Check Please?" Mark asked politely. He saw the manager roll his eyes, heave a sigh, then slouch his way over to the table.

"What, now your just going to rub it in my face? You never have money so why should I even bother wasting paper with a check!"

"Because I have some paper here that you might be interested in having." Mark enjoyed toying with the funny little man as he waved a crisp new fifty dollar bill that he had gotten from the ATM on the way to the Café.

"Oh fine! You surprise me more and more every time I see you. Just do this more often for my sake!" The manager snatched the money out of his hand and sped off behind the counter.

"Keep the change!" Mark yelled. He did sort of feel sorry for the man. He came into his restaurant almost everyday for and never bought a single thing, then he couldn't even pay the one time he DID get something. He might as well be generous while he could.

Mark heard a faint giggling noise coming from a booth not too far from his table. Without thinking he looked up, and saw a woman. For a split second their eyes met. Mark turned his head away in extreme embarrassment. Was it just him looking at another pretty girl? Or was she in fact looking back it him too. As he took another sip of his coffee, he tried not to look in her direction again, but it was inevitable. The two looked at each other again and swiftly looked the other way. "Is this my chance" Mark thought to himself. "This has got to be it… I've got to do this for me. It's about damn time I do something for ME!" He was way to busy thinking about how he was going to introduce himself, that he failed to realize she was already taking the initiative.

"You come here often?" The girl said with a smile. She had medium length brown hair with green eyes; which was something Mark didn't see very often, but that feature instantly became his favorite part of this mystery girl.

"Sometimes, yes."

"I would have to say it's more than sometimes! I've never seen the manager that angry at a customer before."

"Well, I suppose we do kind of have a bad history." Mark was finding it amazingly easy to talk to this woman. Every time he had gone through a scenario like this in his head, he would always freeze up, forget what to say, forget his manners, forget to breath, and any number of things more!

"Do tell, I'm suddenly interested."

Mark went on to explain his horrendous habit of dropping by the Life Café to listen to music, sometimes for over an hour, only to leave later and never buy anything. When the manager complained to him about this fact, Mark bought a tea the next day only to find he didn't have any money on him, so he bolted for the door. She laughed as Mark hoped she would. The two talked for a considerable amount of time more. Mark told the girl stories of him and his family. This term confused her for quite sometime until he explained the concept of the strongest bond of friendship that he and his friends held mutually in their hearts. The girl talked about her school life and how she was planning on attending college soon. She had been out of high school for 5 years and felt it was time to start pursuing something more.

Mark took a quick glance at his watch. It took him a moment to realize they had been talking for about an hour already! Roger probably thought that Mark was just going to pay the bill and get home. Him and Mimi were probably already worried. He hated to break the conversation up, but he really had no choice.

"Well, it was really great talking with you, but I'm afraid I must be going." That's where Mark felt he had tripped up. One of the most beautiful girls in the world and he used the most over-used "Sorry-but-I-have-to-go" line ever. "Maybe we could do it again sometime." He added, just for his own sake.

She was already writing on a slip of paper. "Sure, here is my name and phone number if you'd like."

"Names! I'm sorry I have not even told you my name yet. It's Mark. Mark Cohen."

"And I'm Arella Saunders. I'll catch you later Mark!" They shook hands and she left the restaurant. She certainly was full of energy, Mark had to give her that, but this felt like something that Mark wasn't quite sure what to call it. He hadn't felt this way for a long time, but he most certainly knew that he was going to keep track of that phone number, and he was going to meet that girl again.

On his was home, something was bothering him. Something about that girl. Was it her looks? No, she was beautiful. Her personality? No, she was an amazing person to be around. Her mood? No, she was always happy. Her name? Yes, her name. What about her name was familiar to him. Arella. Where had Mark heard that name before? Of course! At his Jewish Community Center. She was Jewish? She was perfect for him! And her first name, Arella, had the deepest meaning of all. Mark wept to himself on the sidewalk as he got to the front door of the apartment complex. He took a deep breath and walked in the door. Arella was the Hebrew word for Angel.

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I don't consider this to be my best chapter. I spent so much time deciding how Mark should meet this girl that i think I botched it up a little. Tell me what you think in your reviews please! 


	5. Caught

First of all, as a couple of Authors Notes i would like to say a few things. I am placing a Disclaimer saying that i own none of the Characters in this Fan-Fic except Arella. This disclaimer will also apply to my other chapters too, so as not to confuse people. Secondly i am extrememly sorry about the long wait time between chapters, and this post isn't even a chapter in itself, it's more of a filler. I was going to add more, but i thought i would just make a post and finish cleaning up my ideas. So thank you for being patient.

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"Bout damn time Mark! Geeze we thought that you got mugged on the street!" Roger joked when he saw Mark step through the door. He was half laughing; he knew something went on. 

"Really Mark please don't scare us like that again. We were worried sick" Mimi pleaded. She sounded much more concerned than Roger, which was what Mark had expected.

"Yeah, sorry guys. I just decided to stay and listen for awhile considering I actually paid this time."

:"Bullshit, tell the truth."

"What?"

"Comon Mark your such a terrible liar and you know it. Did you at least get her information?" Roger seemed to know a lot about what happened for someone that wasn't even there.

"How the hell do you know what happened." Mark shot. It was unbelievable that Roger was already teasing him about someone Mark had met only a few minutes earlier.

"Well it wasn't really that hard to figure out. Apparently you were the only one NOT to notice that cute thing in the corner staring at you. We were going to give you a sign but we decided not to break the mood."

"When the hell did you all decide that? I was at the table the whole time!"

"Who said anything about a verbal agreement?" Roger was having the time of his life screwing with Mark like this. Mark felt so unbelievably ignorant, but he laughed with Roger as much as he could bear to.

"I guess I should be kicking myself in the face right now. But yes, I did get her information you'll be happy to hear I hope. She is a very polite and smart girl. We ended up talking for the past hour."

"Well are you…"

"Yes I am going to meet her again Roger, so don't even ask. I may have been a little ignorant today but I'm not about to let something like this pass me up." Mark took off his coat and his scarf and hung them up hastily. This whole situation was becoming a little uncomfortable for him. He assumed he would be able to keep this secret for awhile, like it would be his own little life away from the rest of his life, but it wasn't meant to be.

Roger planted himself firmly on the couch, and Mimi sat right there with him. Roger was staring quite intently at Mark. "So? We can't just be satisfied with that now can we? What was her name? Where does she live? What does she do, yatta yatta. You get the point."

"Yes I do but you really don't have to pressure me do you? I mean, I only met her a few minutes ago."

"Roger baby, maybe we should just wait til he wants to talk."

"Mimi, Mark's a big boy now. He can handle himself. He's toughened up enough being around me so much that telling us a little about his special someone won't hurt him."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet. I told you, we just met today!" Mark dodged. This was starting to make him uncomfortable and quite embarrassed all at the same time. But the fact of the matter was that Mark sincerely hoped that Arella WOULD be his special someone. Damn Roger. "Don't worry guys… I'll call her tomorrow if it'll make you stop pestering me now."

Roger gave a rough grin at Mark. "Yeah, actually it would."


	6. Hurry!

Well i was sick today, so about 80 percent of this chapter was written and thought up today in my free time. 2000 words later i hope that I've made up my absence from posting for you all. Enjoy!

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Collins sighed deeply. How could he possibly have been so careless. Well, it couldn't really have been ALL his fault. There was a party and he had drank many many times before. What was different about this time? A sudden coldness crept over him and made him shiver severely. Dear God… He almost died! Collins' mind recoiled at this thought. There was a momentary feeling of vertigo and insanity coursing throughout his being. Then it was over and his mind returned to normal.

"Get a frickin' grip on yourself Tom!" Collins shouted to himself. He realized he had a death grip on his bed sheet and slowly let go. Should the thought of death really be that scary to him? He had been around death so much in the past couple of years he should have inherited the thousand yard stare by now. All of his friends from Life Support slowly dying one by one, and Collins knew that he himself was one of them. Had he been trying to take his own life at that party? No, it couldn't have been. He would never do anything like that to himself would he?

Too many questions. He had to keep his mind from working for awhile. He took as big of a breath as he dared to take and called for a Nurse. He could hear the Nurse sigh from the next bed over; apparently she wasn't having the best of days to start with.

"What can I do for you Mr. Collins?" Her voice was high pitched and extremely nasal. The noise grated his eardrums just to listen. Damn, and he was trying to get rid of a headache.

"I was wondering when I'm allowed to leave. I'd hate to be here all Christmas."

"Now Mr. Collins…" Collins began to pray she would keep it short for his head's sake. "You know that the Doctor said you'd have to spend the night. We'll let you leave first thing in the morning." She wheezed. She did keep it short but not short enough.

"Thank you Nurse." The nurse nodded at this and walked out of the room. Looked like he's be spending Christmas in a hospital bed. Damn. He reclined his bed back into a horizontal position to sleep, and began wondering what the others were doing.

It was almost 7:00 back at the flat with Roger still teasing Mark. "Hey Mark, you forgetting something?"

"What are you talking about now Roger? I TOLD you I'd call her TOMMORROW. 45 minutes doesn't quite make a day you know."

"No Mark I'm over that, though it was pretty funny. I mean your meeting with Buzzline!" Meeting? Buzzline? Mark shot a glance at the clock. Roger almost didn't see Mark leave, but he heard something as Mark left the room that sounded kinda like "Son of a bitch".

His meeting was in 30 minutes and he was running out of time fast. He had to make it quite a long way on his bike if he had any hope of making there in time. If only Joanne was here he could hitch a ride with her, but she was probably busy with Maureen on Christmas. He'd have to fly, and it was time to get started. He mounted his bike, flipped it into high gear and shot off in the direction of the Buzzline building. It still confused him why they wanted him on Christmas of all days. Business people made no sense to Mark. Whatever, he'd find out when he got there.

A familiar face? Yes it was indeed Arella's face! Mark turned and waved to her. She was reading a magazine of some sort on a bench across the street from him. Oh well, he would talk to her tomorrow when he called her. As he turned around he felt a sick sensation in his stomach. His body left the bicycle and went flying into the air. His head flew over his heels and his back hit the pavement as he slid across the ground for a good 5 feet. His lungs were not filling with air. This could potentially be a problem. Mark tried to inhale… nothing. Again? Nothing. He hated this feeling. He felt like if he didn't get a breath soon he was going to pass out.

"Mark! Is that you!" Arella came running across the street to help Mark. Mark rolled over onto his stomach slowly to see where the voice was coming from. Man could that girl dodge traffic. Four lanes and not a scratch on her. Arella knelt beside Mark and asked what was wrong. All Mark could manage to do was smile a little and wheeze some more. "Aww poor baby, you got the wind knocked out of you. Next time try not to rush so much. Comon, lets get you to a bench."

wheeze "Thank…" wheeze "you." Mark managed to choke out feebly.

Arella smiled a beautiful smile, and for a split moment he forgot about the Buzzline meeting and thought purely of the woman sitting beside him. "Now where are you off to in such a hurry honey?" Honey. Ha. Angel used that word so often.

"I have a meeting with some Buzzline Executives tonight to discuss my Documentary I was telling you about."

"On Christmas Day?"

"I know, it seems weird to me too, but it's my only source of income right now, so I've got to get there. I had forgotten about it what with all that has happened today, so I must've been careless and ran into that trashcan or something."

"All that has happened? Has it been a bad Christmas for you?" Mark had failed to mention Collins in their little chat at the Café. Somehow it didn't seem like something you told a girl to make a good first impression.

"Quite a bit so. I'd stay and tell you about it but I have to go. I need to be there in…" Mark glanced at a nearby church clock tower "15 minutes."

"Well I could give you a ride if you need one. My car is just around the corner. It's Christmas so there shouldn't be too many people on the road or I would agree that riding a bike is quicker." There was that smile again.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all Mark. But we'd better hurry. Time doesn't stop for anyone." She smiled again and pulled Mark off his feet, grabbed him by the hand and drug him around the corner to a shabby looking 1979 AMC Pacer. 11 years and this thing was still running? Many people considered this car a joke car almost. It seemed to be in fairly good condition though. Most of the turquoise paint was still intact, the tires were fairly new, but the wheels were still the original. One windshield wiper was missing from the passenger side. The back of the car looked like it had been totaled at one point and manually beaten back into a somewhat normal shape. Guess she wouldn't be carrying anything in the car besides people. After Mark strapped the Bike to the top of the car he stepped into the car. The front seats had minor tears and scratches all over them, but nothing major. "I know it isn't much, but it gets me where I need to go."

"Ha, at least you have a car. My bike is all I have to transport me where I need."

"And most of the time it's quicker than a car." She laughed. Arella tried to start the car, with the keyword being tried. It coughed and sputtered for a little and then went dead. "Does it all the time. Just gotta give it some love." She cranked the key again with the same effect. One more try and it started up, but died immediately.

"Well, thanks for the offer, but it looks like your having some technical difficulties at the moment, and I really have to get going." Mark said almost apologetically. She ignored him and turned the key one last time. The car sputtered, spat, coughed, and started up!

"Losing faith in me already are you?" She shot him a smirk. "I told you it would work. Hop in. If we don't hurry you won't make it in time." Mark saw that she was right. They only had about twelve minutes until he had to be there.

"I hope you don't mind driving like a maniac. The building is quite a ways away from here."

"Speed is what I live for honey." Arella winked a moment before she slammed on the gas and sped off down the street.

"Your going to miss this turn!" Mark had to yell over the loudness of the exhaust on the car. Apparently the muffler was long gone.

"Like hell I am!" She cranked the steering wheel like Mark had never seen. The back tires slid out from under the car, which was now in a drift state. She took the turn like a pro.

"Holy!" Mark didn't have time to finish the sentence; Arella was already speeding 55-60 in New York City. Thank god there wasn't much traffic or the two would have been dead long ago. After 5 more straight minutes of dodging traffic and weaving through intersections, the shoddy car came to a sudden stop at the correct destinations: the Buzzline Media building. Had the wind been knocked out of him again? Mark was in a state of shock and disbelief that no cops had tried to stop them.

"Where did you learn to drive like that!"

"Driving just has always come naturally to me."

"No kidding! That was amazing. I guess you don't mind driving like a maniac. Lucky we didn't get caught by any cops though."

"My father is a cop so I get all my information from him. I know where all the police are stationed around here most of the time. Daddy tends to tell me when things change too. He likes to keep me out of trouble." Arella giggled to herself. She was enjoying watching Mark's reaction. Actually her Father was a little further up in the chain than just an average cop. He was actually in charge of her entire district.

"I suppose certain connections gain special privileges. I guess I owe you one for this. What would you say to dinner tomorrow at my place?" The words just kinda fell out of Mark's mouth. He was a little shocked at what he just said. If this would have been any other girl, Mark would already be in the Buzzline building with only a Thank you to leave behind. He was even more surprised at the reaction he got from Arella.

"I'd love to." She said with another one of her beautiful smiles. Arella was almost just as shocked at Mark. This guy had only come into her life today yet she was already making plans to meet him at his house the next night. Things were moving a little fast, but it wasn't like they were planning on getting married already or anything like that. It was just two people that took an interest in eachother. "But your not going to set one foot in the building until you tell me what has happened today."

"Well, I guess I have time since you got me here so quick, but I'll have to make this fast cause I still need to get in there." Mark went on the explain everything that had happened the night before. He didn't name any names except Collins' because he was the only one really important in the story. Everyone else he simply referred to as "some friends". Even thought apparently most of them knew about Arella, that didn't mean that she needed to know about all of them. It was going to be hard to bring her into the family if Mark ever got that far with her. He knew he would be bringing her into a world of pain and death, which was going to be difficult to do to a girl like Arella. Mark almost felt selfish for wanting to be with her, but it was something he was going to have to get over if he wanted to be happy. After all, everyone was happy for him right?

Arella couldn't quite think of what to say to such a story. A friend almost dieing of alcohol poisoning was much worse than she thought it would be. "Ohh, Mark I'm so sorry. I didn't think it was that bad or I wouldn't have asked you to tell me."

"Don't mention it. It's not a big deal. So I'll talk to you tomorrow then?"

Arella looks straight into Mark's eyes and said, "Yeah, I'd like that a lot." After Mark removed his bike from the top of the Pacer, the two said their swift goodbyes and he trudged into the building. It was very later by this point, 7:28 to be exact. Still, he'd be on time.

It was time that Mark told the Execs how he really felt about working for them. All that he had were his words and his Camera to back him up, but it would have to be enough. Hopefully the ATM idea would come through for them and everything would be fine. Mark was betting a lot on uncertainties, but he had always lived life on the edge anyway. All he would have to do is tell them off and walk out the door with his dignity and his soul back in his possession. It wasn't going to be too tough was it? Well he wasn't going to find out by just standing there. Mark slowly stepped into the elevator, and pressed the button for the 23rd floor.

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Well, there it is for you... Please Review! 


	7. Just My Luck

Arella watch the small blonde man walk casually into the building, his hair becoming slightly ruffled by the crisp Christmas wind. She hadn't seen anything that cute in a long time. Just before he stepped in the door, Arella got out her invisible Kodak camera, and had her own private Kodak moment as she snapped a picture of him.

He was such a sad individual. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he had seen a lot of things that he would rather not have seen. He had seen death, she knew that much, and he had almost seen it again with what happened to his friend this morning. And now, only a few hours later at the most, he was walking into a meeting on Christmas morning that would decide his financial future! His life peaked her interest greatly. Arella could only hope to become a more significant part of his life.

As she turned back to start her car up she jumped at the sight on her windshield. The homeless man cleaning her windshield wasn't out of the ordinary, but she hadn't just expected him to be right their either.

"Hey! Buddy! D'ya mind?" she hollered. His torn beanie rolled back a little on his head to reveal an unshaven late middle aged man that for some reason or another was missing his right ear. Probably some war or something. Though she honked the horn for him to get out of the way, the man simply motioned back to the large towel he was wiping the car down with. "Harah" she cursed to herself. "Just the way to top of my day." Underneath the dirty towel was a pistol. A Sig-Sauer no less. This guy couldn't have just picked this up off the street, this was quality merchandise here. Maybe he was only dressed as a bum. It was a possibility, but either way Arella had no choice but to reach for her purse. She checked outside her other windows to see if anyone was around. Of course not, it was Christmas. And of course she hadn't brought any money today; she wasn't planning on driving Mark to an interview or whatever the heck it was. Man this guy had picked a bad day.

Arella slowly rolled down her driver's side window to break the news to her robber. The man's eyes grew wide with an emotion Arella couldn't quite distinguish. Anger, fear, frustration? He looked as though he were going to say something before motioning for her to step outside the car. "Oh what does he want now?" she thought to herself. When she was sufficiently out of the car, the buffoon stepped into the vehicle, rolled up the window, and closed the door. No. There was no way he was thinking of stealing her CAR! Her BABY? Something had to be done about this.

In a violent rage Arella ran full boar at the automobile until she launched every ounce of her being into a kick that shattered the window completely. She thought she felt her heel connect with the man's head inside, but she was wrong. The thief had put up his hands just in time to deflect the kick slightly, though she could see her heels had grazed his forehead. Arella leapt into the driver's side of the car and began to punch the crook as hard as she could wherever she could: ribs, face, shoulder, arm, testicles, knee, and stomach. Then she remembered, and a little too late at that, about the gun. Between strikes, the crook-now-turned-gunman shot a single shot from the underneath his left arm. The bullet ripped through the sleeve in his jacket, pierced the shoddy metal on the door of the car and entered Arella's right thigh. She screamed in agony as the driver began moving the vehicle. Arella threw herself outward and rolled on the pavement as the forward momentum threw her across the ground. "Ben elef." She swore again. As her precious car turned the corner, all she could to was watch in pain on the pavement. Of course no one would come from any of the apartments. None of them would want to get involved, especially while eating Christmas dinners and what not. That meant that there was only one hope left for her. Arella, attempting to forget the pain in her leg, spun slowly around and began to drag herself off the street toward a bench on the sidewalk. She thought of pausing there for a second, but she couldn't waste any time. Mark was her only hope now, so she dragged herself further over to where his bike had been chained up next to the Buzzline building, and passed out.

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Notes: Yes Arella is swearing in Hebrew. If you want to know what they mean I found them on a really neat website actually. Other than that sorry I have not posted in awhile. My computer has been in the shop for months and I just got it back… so very very very sorry times a billion, but thanks for sticking with me. 


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